Madikeri: The First Additional District Sessions Court has yesterday acquitted three persons who were arrested for the murder of Sahul Hameed during Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Kodagu on Nov. 10, 2015. The Court said that the prosecution had failed to establish the crime and provide evidence.

The Kodagu Police have had cracked the case of the death of Sahul Hameed due to bullet injuries following clashes in Madikeri during the Tipu Jayanti celebrations.

The arrested were P.U. Kaverappa alias Kavan (31) of Boyikeri, S.H. Bheeshma alias Nanda (36) of Dechoor and K.R. Ramesh (45), an RSS worker from Sudarshan Layout in Madikeri.

The trio allegedly committed the crime to avenge the death of VHP leader Devappanda Kuttappa.

The VHP leader died in the clashes. The firearm used in the crime allegedly belonged to Bheeshma.

In their charge-sheet, the Police said Kaverappa fired three rounds at random towards vehicles commuting on a road from a forest area near Madikeri. Bheeshma, who possessed firearm, took it along with him.

Ramesh took Bheeshma and Kaverappa and dropped them behind a forest near Kodagu Vidyalaya. Kaverappa shot (from his .22 rifle) three times. The first bullet hit the ground, second bullet hit the bonnet of a jeep and the third bullet which he shot hit Sahul Hameed who was travelling in a lorry.

The seriously injured Sahul was shifted to a hospital in Mysuru and he later died on November 11. After committing the crime, the trio returned to Madikeri and visited the mortuary where the body of Kuttappa had been kept.

Acquitting the accused, Additional District Sessions D. Pavanesh said that the prosecution failed to establish the crime and there was not enough evidence to prove that the trio had committed the crime.

Advocate P. Krishnamurthy had argued for the accused.